Toby Arnold Studio 97 Disco Aircheck Demo, 1978 (0:26:46)

… 19-06-2005 00:00 …
It’s Saturday night, 8 o’clock, and Studio 97 Disco is on the air [By Uncle Ricky] For now and as long as the Repository exists, this exhibit will serve to demonstrate some of the late ’70’s Disco Madness. The entire 26 minutes was distributed, as you can hear it here, by Toby Arnold and Associates , (Copyright 1978) on a very nice NAB hub 7-inch reel, in STEREO. And most of it is music, including a KC and The Sunshine Band double-play. The right channel tape track dropped out in a couple places, but I didn’t have the inclination to start over. I don’t think I had ever played this tape. Otherwise, the fidelity is really quite good. Apparently, this program (automated?) was running on KPAM-FM (?) in Portland Oregon… Well, we’ll wait for confirmation on that. Notice how the program content shifts from thumpa-thumpa disco music to thumpa-thumpa promotional and commercial announcements – and THE BEAT NEVER CHANGES! Oh wow. Is this awesome, or what?
Picture of Tape Box label

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Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Carl Davis
Trustee
North Carolina Broadcast History Museum